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The Flying Hamster intro is all about love
Also: sunflower seeds, eagles, penguins, UFOs, cows, robots, laser-shooting owls, octopi. Game Atelier's PS mini The Flying Hamster looks crazier than ever in this new trailer -- after the break -- which finally reveals the story behind the shmup.
History Egypt, Telegraph Crosswords, Stellar Attack join growing Minis line-up
It may have had a slow start in the US, but the Minis are finally coming in full-force. Three new Minis are coming to PSP/PS3 soon, and they're all very different games. History Egypt: Engineering an Empire is a licensed strategy game based on History Channel's Engineering an Empire television series. Imagine, if you will, a game that's one part Civilization, another part Advance Wars, with "extensive historical research" delivered by the History Channel. This Mini offers a "hot-seat" two-player mode, and a campaign featuring 14 nations and 30 cities. Telegraph Crosswords will be available next Tuesday, June 1st for $2.99. Featuring 500 puzzles, there are three different types of crosswords to choose from: Quick, General Knowledge and Cryptic. Finally, Stellar Attack (pictured) looks to be the most action-packed Mini of the bunch. Launching on June 1st for $4.49, this is an "homage to classic shoot-em-up Star Castle," featuring puzzles, action and "precision targeting." With a techno soundtrack and a "racking" score system, this should appeal to the hardcore crowd. Check out a trailer, after the break.
Robin Hood: The Return of Richard assaults PSP Minis
Do you ever wish your PSP could experience the magic and wonder of American Laser Games? Well, Nordcurrent's Robin Hood: The Return of Richard doesn't quite replicate the full live-action cheesiness of Mad Dog McCree ... but it certainly tries. Robin Hood will be available as a Mini for $4.99 in today's PSN Tuesday update. But seriously, look at what you're getting yourself into before you even consider buying this. We attached a video, after the break.
The Flying Hamster joins PSP Minis, offers new tutorials
We've been championing Game Atelier's adorable shmup, The Flying Hamster, for quite some time. And although it's still without a release date, the development team has recently confirmed that it will end up in the PlayStation Minis program (hopefully allowing cross-platform play via PSP and PS3). While we may be touting its cute facade, we have to admit that the gameplay looks rather compelling, as well. These new weapons tutorial videos (after the break) offer some insight into the depth of the game's combat. (We can't wait to use the banana weapon!) %Gallery-83145%
Supermarket Mania sweeps PS3/PSP on May 18
G5 Entertainment's Supermarket Mania is leaping from iPhone and PC to the PlayStation Minis program. While it may not be the Supermarket Sweeps game we've always dreamed of, it does offer casual gamers the chance to become a supermarket manager. Players will have to keep the shelves well stocked and serve customers, "including hard-to-please celebrities." (Does that mean you'll have to keep stock of illegal drugs?) Supermarket Mania will be available in North America for $4.99 on May 18th, and in Europe for €4.99 on May 26th. Check out a trailer after the break.
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess hits PSN today
If you're a fan of platform jumping, uncertainty, and radical injustices, you might be a fan of the most recent addition to the PSP (and PS3) Minis platform: Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess. The game puts you in the shoes of the accusatory Duke, who spends his days climbing platforms while beating the crap out of his underlings whom he's positive have absconded with his soul mate. Probably. In all likelihood. Perhaps. The game's available to purchase on the PSN today for $4.99. Just be aware that with your purchase, you're supporting monster stereotyping. Are you really cool with that? %Gallery-82756%
Sony releasing PSP Minis-esque collection in Japan
Sony has announced an initiative to bring inexpensive, smaller PSP gaming experiences to the Japanese PlayStation Store. You're probably thinking, "wow, that sounds a lot like the PSP Minis that are currently available in the U.S. and Europe!" While you're not too far off, we feel it pertinent to note that these games will be infinitely more awesome -- if their intoxicatingly brilliant titles are any indication. For instance, there's a stripped-down baseball sim titled Make Drama Baseball, which belongs to the Feel For Two game collection to be released April 22. Then there's a handful of games pulled from the 2005 minigame collection Work Time Fun, such as Ball Pen Koujou 2, in which you place caps back on ballpoint pens. That's just the tip of the wonderful iceberg -- check out Andriasang for a full list of the bite-sized games.
PlayStation Mini 'Hysteria Project' is an FMV adventure
I'm always asking myself, "Justin, full-motion videos are so great, why aren't they used in every game?" It's a fine question. There's huge, pent-up demand for games that use video of actual actors throughout my office, and it seems that someone's finally catering to it. It's just been announced that iPhone FMV horror adventure Hysteria Project is coming to PlayStation Minis courtesy of Sanuk Games. The news comes from the Euro PlayStation blog, so the question, of course, is whether or not this super-cool, super-scary release will be part of the North American update when it's unveiled later today. Here's hoping the high concentration of FMV fans in and around my office chair finally have their voices heard. [Update: Just heard back from Sanuk, Hysteria Project's coming to North America next week. The FMreVolution begins!]
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess definitely being released Apr. 22
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, the PSP Mini about unfortunate anti-monster racial profiling, has been given a release date of April 22 -- which publisher Mediatonic has confirmed is worldwide. The game, playable on both PSP and PS3, stars the Duke, who goes on an ill-researched quest to rescue his princess, jumping endlessly upward through vertically scrolling levels, and beating up every presumed guilty monster he sees (hint: all of them). To see the game in (unfair) action, check out the trailer after the break. It features random wings, Castlevania-esque music, and monster piledrivers! You'll probably enjoy watching it. %Gallery-82756%
Freekscape: Escape from Hell coming to PSN this week
One of the beefiest PSP Minis we've seen to date, Kidguru Studios' Freekscape: Escape from Hell, will arrive on the European and North American PlayStation Stores with this week's April 8th PSN update. The game, which goea for $4.99 (or €4.99), is a puzzle-platformer where you must use the minions of Beelzebub to evacuate his domain. Check out the trailer above to get a glimpse of the demonic ingenuity required to brave the hazards of Hades. Who knew pitchforks were so darn practical?
Swag Sunday: Age of Zombies eats your braaaaaaains (PSP Minis)
Why do zombies eat brains? There's usually perfectly available, good meat around, so what's with the brain-cravings? It's not like they do anything special with them. If they saved them for some kind of a stew or possibly pulled a Sylar, then you could understand it, but this willy-nilly shambling towards grey matter? Weird. Plus, do they have some sort of brain detector built-in? They always seem to know exactly which way to go. Whoops, pardon our tangent. You want to get right to the swag, don't you? We're giving away nine copies of Halfbrick's brand new Age of Zombies, the PSP minis game that combines cute and cuddly with brain-hungry and undead. Seriously, these little zombies are adorable, and they'll look super keen on your PSP or your PS3. Since we can't explain why zombies crave brains, all you have to do is follow the rules below and tell us what the perfect side dish would be. Leave a comment telling us what the perfect side dish would be for a serving of brains. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- it has to do with Pierre Duchesne and he knows why). Limit 1 entry per person per day. This entry period ends at 11:31AM ET on Monday, March 8. At that time, we'll randomly select nine winners to receive a code good for one copy of Age of Zombies for PSP or PS3 (ARV: $4.99). For a list of complete rules, click here. What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here. %Gallery-84946%
'The Terminator' iPhone game coming to PS Minis
According to its website (and an ESRB classification), Elefunk dev Big Head Games is bringing its The Terminator iPhone / iPod Touch game (released last summer) to PS Minis. There's no date yet for the cross-compatible PS3/PSP title (described as "run-and-gun" by the ESRB) which casts players as Kyle Reese in a prequel to the original Terminator film. iTunes users haven't exactly been kind to the mobile version of the game, but we've yet to see what changes (if any) BHG will be making for the Minis release. Wait -- did we just write this without making a single cringe-worthy Terminator reference? Hmm. Off day, we guess. [Via Destructoid]
Just Add Water announces 'Vektar Beat' for PSP Minis and iPhone
Gravity Crash developer Just Add Water has announced a brand new game for PSP, PS3 and iPhone. Vektar Beat is a "rhythm/puzzle game" that will presumably feature vector-styled graphics. Taking a page from WiiWare's Bit.Trip franchise, Vektar Beat is just the first in a series of Vektar mini-games. While details are scant, there's good reason to play close attention to the game. Just Add Water plans on charging as little as $1 for the game on the Minis service, introducing pricing parity between the App Store and the PlayStation Store for the first time. For PSP owners frustrated at overpriced Minis, Vektar Beat represents an interesting experiment. Vektar Beat is scheduled for release in the Spring. Further details are scant for now, but tonight's episode of the PS Nation podcast should reveal much more.
Halfbrick's Rocket Racing boosts onto PSP/PS3 this month
Halfbrick Studios continues to churn out Minis for the PSP and PS3. Rocket Racing is the fourth title from the Australian studio for Sony's indie platform, following Age of Zombies, Echoes and Blast Off. Based on the Xbox Live Indie Game of the same name, Rocket Racing is one of the few games designed with the PSP Go in mind: the game can be played exclusively with the shoulder buttons, meaning Go owners can play with the system closed. The gameplay of this top-down racer is rather unique. Each shoulder button represents a side thruster on the vehicle. Players will have to adjust each thruster to cut through corners, and make their way through the game's 24 levels. Hugging the walls won't result in a penalty; instead, the "grind" will result in a speed boost. Unfortunately, due to limitations of the Minis platform, there's no real multiplayer. Instead, gamers will have to resort to pass-around multiplayer, taking turns to go through the courses. Unfortunately, this "Party" mode seems like a rather misguided attempt to circumvent Minis' shortcoming. Rocket Racing should appear on the PlayStation Store later this month for $4.99. Check out a trailer after the break. %Gallery-85251%
ESRB lists Freekscape for Minis in the US
Creat Studios, one of the few proud and brave developers supporting Sony's PSP Minis service, recently announced in a PlayStation Blog post that it had three titles in the works for Europe: Alien Havoc; Freekscape and Bubble Trubble. Alien Havoc is already available here in the States, but a recent ESRB listing suggests that Freekscape is also on its way. The ESRB site describes Freekscape as "a platformer game in which players run around a "cartoony" version of the underworld ("Hell") as a small demon creature, essentially a "good" devil." You can check out a two-minute video sample of Freekscape's blend of puzzle-platforming after the break. [Thanks, Blake]
Celebrity pool, snooker and darts ported to Minis platform
PSP owners can expect a lot of new sports games this year, including Steve Davis Pool, Ronnie O'Sullivan Snooker and Phil Taylor Darts. Developer GameShastra announced a partnership with PI Sports to adapt their mobile games -- including titles based around pool, cricket, rugby, snooker, golf, tennis, darts, fishing and poker -- for the Minis platform on PlayStation Network. All in all, "over 10" games will appear on the PlayStation Store this year. In addition, GameShastra is promising visual improvements and enhanced controls over the original smartphone versions. "With some of the biggest names in sport attached to the biggest names in mobile gaming, this agreement is brilliant news for all PSP owners," GameShastra's CEO said in a press release. Considering how few new releases are announced for Sony's handheld, the addition of more than ten titles to the service certainly does sound appealing.
Select Minis on sale in Europe
For a limited time, select Minis (playable on PSP and PS3) will be on sale in the European PlayStation Store. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe will discount these eight games from February 4–18: Fieldrunners - €3.99/£3.49 Kahoots - €1.99/£1.74 Vempire - €1.99/£1.74 Breakquest - €1.99/£1.74 Pinball Fantasies - €3.99/£3.49 Bloons - €2.49/£1.99 Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 - €1.99/£1.74 Dracula - Undead Awakening - €1.99/£1.74 SCEE is also promising to update its YouTube channel with new videos of the Minis. It's not quite as good as playable demos, but it's better than nothing, right?
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess coming soon to PSP Minis
While we personally believe that there's no room for uncertainty when it comes to royal kidnappings, we suppose it's appropriate in the case of Mediatonic's recently announced PSP Mini, Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess. Keep it straight -- there's no doubt whether a princess has been stolen. She definitely has. The parenthetical modifier in the middle of that title is referring to the Monsters, who may or may not have stolen said Princess. Even without any prior knowledge of the heist, we'd bet they were somehow involved. We digress! In M(P)SMP, you play as The Duke, who reacts unfavorably to the disappearance of his beloved princess, and begins pummeling random monsters in an attempt to rescue said heiress. We expect monster sympathizers worldwide to get their dander up when this one launches on the PSN sometime in February. %Gallery-82756%
Alien Zombie Death stalks PSP Minis 'soon'
PSP mini's Alien Zombie Death will beam and shamble its way to doom onto PSN sometime this month. The original plan seemed to have been for the £2.50 (no US price) title to release this Thursday, but as is often the case with aliens, zombies and death: plans change quickly and violently. Speaking of quick and violent, the 2D shooter has players blasting everything in sight in a game that appears to be Geometry Wars plus mild platforming. Check out the video above, which features the game's variety of enemies and general level layout.
Let Halfbrick's Blast Off soundtrack occupy your hard drive space
Even if you have yet to check out Halfbrick's gravity-based puzzler Blast Off -- and even if you lack the Xbox 360 required to play the Indie Games version or the PSP or PS3 required for the Minis version -- you can enjoy the "ambient and introspective" soundtrack (as Halfbrick describes it) right now, because Halfbrick is nice. Fire up the BitTorrent client of your choice, and you can have the Blast-Off soundtrack in either MP3 or Apple Lossless format. We couldn't be happier with this trend of using free downloadable game soundtracks as promotional tools! As it happens, we often enjoy listening to music.
